Hebrews 8

If you've had any trouble grasping the point of the last few chapters, chapter 8 is here to make it clear.

The author has been contrasting the old covenant that God made with Moses on Mt. Sinai, with the new covenant that God made through his son, Jesus, on the cross. The old covenant was based on the law, which was given by God to Moses. But the law only made people liable to be condemned for their sin. It was completely unable to remove that condemnation, and the sacrificial system could only promise a short-lived pardon of sin to the people of that covenant.

The new covenant, however, which Christ mediates, is better because it is enacted on better promises (vs 6). Two things it promises:

(1)This covenant does not hold people liable to be condemned for their sin. Rather, it promises a full pardon of their sins, by laying the weight of those sins on Christ (vs 12).

(2)Before, God wrote his laws to his people; now God will write his laws in his people. So it also promises that those who belong to this covenant will "know" the Lord (vs 11), because he has written his law in their hearts (vs 10).

This is why Paul told the Galatians that he had only found reason for boasting in the cross of Jesus. He knew that it was not because of anything he did that his eternity in heaven was secured. He could only boast in Jesus, who had given his life to become Paul's perfect high priest.

There is nothing we can do to save ourselves either. It is only through our dependence on Christ's work as our mediator that all of our sins are forgiven and that we may truly know the Lord our God. Since we, like Paul, are powerless to save ourselves through the law, we too should praise God for saving us by sending a great high priest to pardon our sins.